


Shared Blankets and Fears

by MunTiller



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: "Human" because they're still bugs, Ghost has a nightmare, Half-Siblings, Human AU, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Nightmares, and so does Hornet, but not really, they both sleep hugging each other to shoo those nightmares away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:55:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24495322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MunTiller/pseuds/MunTiller
Summary: Ghost has a nightmare and is unable to sleep after that, so they go seek the magical hugs their sister gives.(Inspired by MMidnight26's story, although I added my own headcanons to it. I hope you don't mind!)
Relationships: Hornet & The Knight (Hollow Knight), The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Hornet & The Knight, The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & The Knight
Comments: 5
Kudos: 137





	Shared Blankets and Fears

Ghost woke up with a jolt, sitting up on their shared bed in a hurry. Hollow did as much as twitch by their side, but for a moment they paid no mind to it, more focused on their hasty, uneven breathing. It was way past midnight now, dawn would most certainly come up in two or three hours, so the room was supposed to be pitch black had it not been for the few lumaflies freely roaming the air, freshly freed from their lantern.

The light was nice, the child decided, hugging their own arms as a chill ran up their spine, they didn't want to be in complete darkness right now.

They felt another shiver as they turned to look at Hollow, hoping not to have woken them up. Quite contrary to their sibling, whoever, Hollow slept peacefully and Ghost knew their slumber was dreamless unlike theirs; for a second they felt jealous. Looking back at their hands, they realized they were shaking and that there would be no more sleep that night if they didn’t calm down, but they felt like they couldn't really do it alone.

It had been so long since Ghost had been through this, they even forgot how bad it felt, that tightness in the chest and that irrational fear of _something_. As they stared holes into the floor, their breaths slowly became calmer, but still far from normal.

With a silent sigh they held their own hands against their chest, mind begging their body to stop shaking; _stop panicking, please!_ But Ghost's mind soon drifted elsewhere, images from their time at the abyss slowly popping up to bother them more than they ever did before.

Their shaking got worse. 

Standing up, still careful not to wake Hollow, Ghost made their way out of their bedroom and to the one next over, hand hovering over the door handle. As they shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another, they wondered if she would be able to help at all. Hornet had experience with dreams, right? She had to deal with them for years before the Radiance was killed, most certainly having a different battle every night just like them, so she could help, right? But what if she was sleeping right now and didn't want to help?

Of course she's sleeping, you little shade, but it's still worth a try; better than staying awake all night again. _Right_. As they pushed the door open, barely making a noise, they stepped into her room. It was dark, way more than theirs, but darkness didn't bother them much – not right now at least. A small noise drew their attention, – a whimper? No, something moving ahead and up above – but they knew not to worry. They guessed it was common among spider culture to sleep above ground.

As they looked up, they saw Hornet sleeping on her hammock, although it hardly seemed like her slumber was deep as she seemed unusually tense for a resting individual. She wasn’t one to sleep much, but when she did, they knew she could be woken by any noise; hunter’s brain annoying side, they supposed.

Perhaps regretting their decision of entering Hornet’s room and waking her, Ghost turned back, intending to walk out. A floorboard squeaked under their bare feet, whoever, and they froze in place, hearing something shifting behind them. They sighed silently.

"What's wrong, Ghost?" Hornet asked in a whisper, voice hoarse from sleepiness and perhaps something else. As they turned around to look at her, she seemed to give them a small, questioning gaze; her eyes were red. Approaching the hammock, Ghost watched her sit up and put the covers aside, her third lone arm extending itself to them. “Come on, tell me.”

They couldn't do much; really, their hands were still shaking too much to sign. With a pained expression, Ghost came even closer, trying to hug her but failing as she was too high up. A little embarrassed, they gave a step back, only to hear a familiar, low hum.

Hornet sighed and stretched her arms upwards, her joints popping under the pressure, before she pulled them up by their shirt and put them on her lap with little to no effort. It had always been unclear whether she was the strong one, or they were too light, but who cared? Ghost sighed silently as her hug felt like a blanket, her low humming helping them soothe their nerves.

They spent some time like this, hugging in the darkness and gently swinging to the sides as Ghost felt like they were back into their egg, still part of an amalgamation of countless other siblings among the void, unbothered by the outside world. It was a nice feeling, so much their shaking eventually stopped, yet they refused to move, that tightness in their chest not yet gone.

"Your nightmares are getting better, you know? This is the first after three months." Hornet whispered as she laid back down, three limbs holding the now sleepy child in her arms. Strangely, her own voice seemed shaky. As Hornet felt Ghost settle down more comfortably on her chest, little sudden black tears fell to their cheeks before she managed to wipe them away from her eyes.

"That's fine, I don't mind having company every once in a while." Ghost looked up at her a little worried, noticing her tears falling more and more. "Even when you stop having nightmares, I'll take you in when you want to."

Ghost tilted their head to the side, like a confused puppy, and tried to get up before Hornet shook her head sideways; it seemed like they weren’t the only one having nightmares. With a small sigh, they settled back down again.

One of those rare, soft smiles reached her lips, right before they closed their eyes and drifted away, little hands wiping away the black markings of her tears. She pulled the covers over both of them, looking up towards the ceiling knowing full well it would take her some minutes to fall asleep again, but honestly she didn't care.

Taking a deep breath, she caressed their back as she waited for her time to drift away. Today was a bit more bearable than the day before, she had to admit, and she was thankful for that.

**Author's Note:**

> Go read MMidnight26"s story that inspired this one, it's very good too.


End file.
